Exercise # 5 / Creative writing

Write about the place that included all of the senses. 

I have been moving a lot before settling down here in Seattle. My place is a 10-minute walk to Lake  Washington. Something special about the lake reminds me of my little hut house in Hà Nội, where I was born in 1971.

My mother was an art teacher at the Fine Art School in Hà  Nội. I was told that my father was a war reporter. He worked at the radio station and was away from home most of the time during the American War (Here we call it the Vietnam War). He traveled back and forth to the Hô ̀ Chi ́ Minh trail to cover the war news.

 My mother was alone with me all the time. We lived in a tiny house that students built for my mother. The house was big enough for a full-size bed. There was a narrow path for my mother to climb onto the bed and big enough for the tiny family cabinet. I remember we had a bomb shelter underneath the bed.

I remember in front of my little house was a very big lake. My mother always reminded me not to stay nearby. She warned me to be careful because there was a kid who fell into it and had to go to the hospital. I listened to her. I stayed very far, keeping my distance from that lake.

As I was telling the story from the eye of a two or three-year-old toddler, all of my senses were so limited. But for some reason, my heart told me to keep writing it out.

I brought the memory of a big lake over to the US.

In 2005, I went home. I was curious about the lake near the school campus. I told my mother that I wanted to take me and her to visit.  I asked her what the name of the lake was.

She was silent for such a long time. Her eyes were brownish and so deep. Every time I looked at my mother’s eyes, I could see her sorrow and sadness hidden and revealed at the same time.

 She said, “That was not a lake. That was a Bomb B-52 crater.”

She told me that her marriage to my father was not a happy one. She was sad and alone all the time. She maned me Thủy Châu for that reason. My name carries her sadness. She explained that Châu (my first name) was a drop of tear and Thủy (my middle name also her first name) was water. My name is all water and tears. No wonder I cry a lot.

She shared that when I was about one year old, Nixon bombed Ha Noi during Christmas 1972. She was ordered to evacuate from Ha Noi, but she did not. She secretly kept me back in a tiny apartment in Hà Nội. At night everything was so quiet and peaceful. She got a tiny oil lamp for me and her. Through the darkness, I could picture my mother holding me in her arms, looking at the little flame of light, and waiting for the bombing.

Everything was quiet and peaceful until it was not. She told me that she risked both of our lives by not moving out of Ha Noi.

I never remember anything about the bombing. But now I know that we lived a couple years next to a big B-52 bomb crater filled with water over time to become a lake.

 I carried the image of that lake all the time in my childhood. Thanks to my mother who did not tell me that truth back there. Living next to a big lake sounded much better than next to a bomb crater for sure.

When I lived in Seattle and looked at the lake of Washington, memories slowly came back. For the first several years during the summertime, I witnessed the fleet of Jet Blue Angel practice fly over Seattle for the annual Seafair. While others were excited to enjoy the show in August, I was not. I was horrified and scared. I did not sleep well during that time.

That feeling has been less and less over time. Yet, I am not used to the sound of the fleet flying over each summer.

We take a walk to Lake Washington whenever we can. Seattle has a beautiful lake with peaceful scenery right in the middle of the city. The air is fresh and pristine. I always tell others that if you feel depressed, just take a walk to Lake Washington, take a deep fresh in, and all life problems will disappear when you exhale. The water of Lake Washington is cold, pure, and crystal clear. I was told that the cold water from the lake has healing properties.

I realized that my name is not just carrying my mother’s sadness.  My name could carry the pure water element that eventually could heal the wounds and trauma in the past for both mother and daughter.  I love to dip my legs into the water of Lake Washington.  Whenever I do that, my heart goes back to my childhood lake far away when I had my mother to hold me dearly.